5 reasons Star Trek must do a musical episode
By Mike Poteet
![HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: Patrick Stewart (L) and Alex Kurtzman arrive at the premiere of CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Picard" at ArcLight Cinerama Dome on January 13, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 13: Patrick Stewart (L) and Alex Kurtzman arrive at the premiere of CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Picard" at ArcLight Cinerama Dome on January 13, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/26f9f8e0c85459ba83aadc4be89353b6f686290168a04fff8b2955dcba8e4c99.jpg)
Alex Kurtzman really needs to make a Star Trek musical episode happen!
Dissension in the ranks? Nah, just a friendly disagreement. While Chad Porto thinks a musical Star Trek episode is a bad idea, I think it has the potential to be not only great but brilliant.
To paraphrase Captain Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Chad proceeds from a false assumption. He seems to equate âmusicalâ with âsilly.â
Is some musical theater silly? Sure.
But musical theaterâs a genre. And like other genresâincluding science fictionâitâs more than capable of being serious as well as silly, profound as well as playful. Sometimes it can even be both, and a lot more, all at the same time.
Granted, we donât usually see people suddenly break into song and dance in real life. (Maybe weâre just hanging around the wrong people!)
But the conventions of a musical arenât inherently more or less silly than any other genreâs conventions.
Besides, if any TV franchise deserves a first-rate musical episode, Star Trek does.
Here are five reasons why.
# 1 â A Star Trek musical episode could really slay âem
To again paraphrase Captain Spock (this time from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), Chad must have faith the franchise will unfold as it must! And maybe that âmustâ includes a musical episode.
Chad cites Psychâs musical episode as evidence musical episodes are rarely any good. But he doesnât mention the musical episode that sets the standard and inspires those who make other TV series, including Alex Kurtzman, want to try one in the first place: âOnce More, with Feeling,â from season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In the midst of the otherwise overwhelmingly bleak and grim slog that was BVtSâ penultimate year, âOnce More, with Feelingââin which a demon forces Sunnydaleâs denizens to sing and dance their way through life on the Hellmouthâwas and is a breathtakingly fresh, funny, and fiercely emotional exploration of its characters.
Writing for The Ringer, Miles Surrey and Kate Halliwell judge it âthe best episode the series ever made.â
I enjoy Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. But thereâs no denying both these Star Trek shows know how to do bleak and grim. A well-done musical episode could be a wonderful way to shine more light into an otherwise dark plot arc.
Star Trek fans and TV critics alike might even remember such an episode as one of these seriesâ best for years to come, just as they still sing the praises of Buffyâs musical milestone.